Lighting

Lighting is an integral part of a Sanctuary. Lighting can be used in more ways than just allowing people to see; it can set the mood, focus people’s attention, and add intelligibility for some people. (Anyone over the age of thirty has some level of hearing loss. To compensate for this loss, virtually everyone relies on some level of lip reading.) In multi-purpose rooms lighting can be used to mentally transition the space from “this is where we play basketball” to “this is where we worship”

In most churches, the design should utilize both theatrical and architectural lighting:

Theatrical lighting should be used in the platform area.

Theatrical lighting may be used in the altar area if the ministry uses this area during the praise and worship or sermon portion of the service.

Architectural lighting can be used in the congregational seating area.

The key design element for the congregational seating area is evenness. If the lighting creates bright and dark spots it can result in the pastor focusing on people in the brightest spots while unintentionally ignoring people in the darker spots.

By being able to control the platform lighting which is divided into small areas, we can focus people’s attention on the pastor and help prevent distractions.

When all of the lights within the Sanctuary can be controlled by a single control console and door entrance controls, it’s very easy to program several scenes adjusted for special events or even low-level walk-through lighting.